Relegation haunted Oldham have appointed 31-year-old Lee Johnson as manager.

The former Yeovil Town and Bristol City player becomes the youngest boss in the football league after he was unveiled at a 2pm press conference on Monday afternoon.

Johnson will face dad Gary's Yeovil side on 16 April.

He moved to ease concerns of fans who had called for a more experienced manager stating that he would 'give it a right good go'.

"I understand (fans' worries)," said Johnson.

"All I can say is that I will give it my best. I've got a lot of people in the game that believe in me. It's nice to be backed at such a young age. I understand that the fans would want a big name in the current situation but what I can promise is that I will be here for all hours working as hard as I can to get the right players in that can serve the fans in the right way."

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Johnson said he believed his charges were capable of lifting themselves out of League One trouble and that he was delighted to have been given the chance to lead them to safety.

"I am very, very proud," he explained.

"I am just ecstatic that I have got this opportunity at a fantastic club with a great history and a group of players with a great chance of getting out of trouble."

Cheshire-based Johnson, who left Kilmarnock in January, also asked for backing for the terraces and said that all of the current squad would be given an opportunity to prove themselves.

"I feel really excited to get the adventure started," he said. "All I ask from fans is that they give the team support for 90 minutes.

"I think first and foremost you have to galvanise the players. Make sure they know you trust them.

"I think that they can achieve anything if they have that.

"If I feel they are not representing the club, fans and myself right they will move on.

"Everyone has a chance. The chairman has given me full jurisdiction to do what I like. I appreciate it's a left-field appointment but all I can say is that I am here and I am willing to give it a right good go."

Johnson is expected to bring in an experienced right hand man to help him and has already opened talks with potential candidates.

Chairman Simon Corney, who came under fire from some sections of the club's support after M.E.N. Sport announced the likely appointment online on Sunday, explained the thinking behind the decision.

"I would never have considered him but he blew me away in the interview" he said.

"I went home thinking I still can't really pick him.

"There's a saying in football that if you're good enough you're old enough and it applies on the field so why shouldn't it off the field?

"I said to the board see what you think of this lad. Speak to him and tell me what your thoughts are. They walked out with the same impression I did. I was more scared if we didn't take him where he would end up.

"The majority of the fans will be concerned and I understand that. I think we are going to have some very exciting times here.

"This is not a rash appointment. Lee has been working on this for years and years."

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Johnson added that he had dreamed of being a manager from a young age and had researched the role throughout his career.

"Every international break I have gone away," he said. "To Barcelona, Madrid, Feyenoord, Skonta Riga, Tottenham, Arsenal just to learn.

"You speak to top people and take little bits from their philosophy and you can build around that.

"I don't feel like a total rookie. All I can say is that I have worked hard to get there and I am determined to get there.

"It's in your blood. I was picking my dad's teams for him at nine and 10-years-old. Even my mum picked the team. If the dad's a carpenter normally the kid is good at woodwork. It's a natural progression and it doesn't seem like a big step even though it is."

Johnson takes the reins from caretaker manager Tony Philliskirk, who leaves the League One side two points from safety with two games in hand on the teams above them.

In his playing days, the Suffolk-born midfielder achieved a double promotion in a five-year spell at Yeovil under the management of his father before moving to Hearts in 2006 where he picked up a Scottish Cup medal.

Johnson then re-joined his father at Bristol City, where he celebrated promotion to League One before reaching the 2008 play-off final, losing out to Hull at Wembley.

He ended his playing career at Kilmarnock where he won the Scottish League Cup and now faces an immediate challenge to escape relegation as he follows his father's footsteps into management with Hartlepool United his first opponents on Tuesday night.